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 Public Administration
Theory and Practice

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 Public Administration
Theory and Practice

Hoshiar Singh
Pardeep Sachdeva

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Copyright © Hoshiar Singh, Pradeep Sachdeva, 2012
Licensees of Pearson Education in South Asia

No part of this eBook may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the
publisher’s prior written consent.

This eBook may or may not include all assets that were part of the print version. The publisher
reserves the right to remove any material present in this eBook at any time.

ISBN 9788131761182
eISBN 9788131775936

Head Office: A-8(A), Sector 62, Knowledge Boulevard, 7th Floor, NOIDA 201 309, India
Registered Office: 11 Local Shopping Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110 017, India
 Contents
`

1   Meaning, Scope and Importance of Public
  Administration  1

2   Theories of Organisation  22
 
3    Principles of Organisation  41
 
4    Administrative Behaviour  61
 
5    Structure of Organisation  81
6    Personnel Administration  112
7    Financial Administration  192
8    Accountability and Control  228
9    Administrative Reforms  250
10    Administrative Law  268
11   Administrative Culture  291
12    New Public Management  302
13   Good Governance  310
14  Comparative and Development Administration:
Meaning, Nature, Scope and Importance  324
15    Public Policy  335

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 1
Meaning, Scope and Importance
of Public Administration

Public administration consists of the activities undertaken by a government to look after its people, or to
manage its affairs. Before discussing the various interpretations of the concept of public administration, it
is pertinent to understand the meaning of the terms ‘public’ and ‘administration’ separately.
The word ‘public’ stands for the people of a definite territory or state. As the will of the people of a state
is represented by the government of the state, the word ‘public’ also has a specialised, governmental mean-
ing. Therefore, the acts of administration performed by the government are called ‘public administration’.
Those acts which are undertaken by individuals in their own capacity are termed ‘private administration’.
The English word ‘administer’ is derived from the Latin words ad and ministrare, which means ‘to serve’.
Thus, in simple words ‘administration’ means the ‘management of affairs’, or looking after the people. It is
a process of management which is practised by all kinds of organisations from the household to the most
complex system of the government. Whenever two or more people cooperate to accomplish common
goals, an administrative activity is assumed to have been involved. In the words of H. Simon, ‘Administra-
tion can be defined as the activities of groups cooperating to accomplish common goals.’1 According to J.
M. Pfiffner ‘Administration is the organisation and direction of human and material resources to achieve
desired ends.’2 J. S. Hodgson describes administration as ‘a kind of activity found in both public and busi-
ness affairs’. It means getting things done, a process which is concerned much more with relations between
persons than with manipulation of objects. Therefore, administration means appropriate ­organisation of
men and material in pursuit of desired ends.

T he Concept of P ublic A dministration

The concept of public administration has been given various interpretations by different thinkers. As the
term itself signifies, ‘public administration’ simply means the activities undertaken by the government to

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 2 Public Administration: Theory and Practice

fulfil its desired ends. The difference, however, is only regarding the ‘activities’ which are to be considered
as administrative activities. Some thinkers take a broad view and consider all governmental activities aimed
at fulfilment of public policy as administrative activities, while others take a narrow view and include only
those activities that are concerned with the executive branch of the government.
The definitions given by prominent writers can be broadly classified into three different categories on
the basis of the importance they attach to different aspects of administrative functioning. There are some
who emphasise the function of implementation of public policy; for example, L. D. White observes,
­‘Public administration consists of all those operations having for their purpose the fulfilment or enforce-
ment of public policy.’3 Similarly, according to J. S. Hodgson, ‘Public administration comprises all activi-
ties of persons or groups in governments or their agencies, whether these organisations are international,
regional or local in their scope, to fulfil the purpose of these governments or agencies’. Thinkers like J. M.
Pfiffner lay more emphasis on the coordinating role of the administration. In his opinion ‘Administration
consists of getting the work of government done by coordinating the efforts of the people so that they can
work together to accomplish their set tasks.’4 Then there are others who emphasise upon the administra-
tive function of implementing the law of the country. In the words of H. Walker, ‘The work which the
government does to give effect to a law is called administration.’5
However, the definition given by F. A. Nigro is more comprehensive and includes, besides the afore-
mentioned functions, the relationship between public administration and political process as well as its
association with the community as a whole. Nigro summarises the meaning of public administration in
these words:
Public Administration is cooperative group effort in a public setting; covers all three
branches—executive, legislative and judicial—and their inter-relationships; has an
important role in the formulation of public policy and is thus a part of the political
process; is more important than, and also different in significant ways from private
administration; as a field of study and practice has been much influenced in recent years
by the human relations approach; is closely associated with numerous private groups
and individuals in providing services to the community.
The aforementioned definitions take a broader view of public administration. There are thinkers who
take a narrower view, and as students of public administration we are more concerned with this ideology.
In this category comes D. Waldo who defines public administration as ‘the art and science of management
as applied to the affairs of state’.6 According to M. E. Dimock, ‘Public administration is the fulfilment
or enforcement of public policy as declared by the competent authorities. It deals with the problems and
powers, the organisation and techniques of management involved in carrying out the laws and policies
formulated by the policy-making agencies of government’. He further adds, ‘Public administration is law
in action. It is the executive side of government’.7
All these definitions make it clear that public administration is really government in action. In com-
mon usage, public administration is concerned with the executive—the operative and the most obvious
part of government. In other words, it is mainly concerned with the executing and implementing parts of
governmental activity, and with administering of the law of the land with equity, speed and smoothness.
An ignorant Indian villager may not know anything of the Constitution of the country but a daroga or a
patwari is a living reality to him or her. Therefore, public administration comprises the systematic execu-
tion of the will of the people, which has been discovered, formulated and expressed in the form of laws
by the legislature. For instance, the assessment and rating of taxes, provision of criminal justice, postal

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 Meaning, Scope and Importance of Public Administration 3

services, recruitment of armed forces personnel etc., are all acts of public administration. To summarise, it
may be said that public administration is the non-political machinery of the government carrying on its
work for the welfare of the people according to the laws formulated by the state. It is the permanent execu-
tive as distinguished from the political one. We must, at this stage, also be clear that public administration
is ­concerned with people and not things. However, there is a school of thought which holds that in the
future the tendency will be to shift from the administration of persons to the administration of things. But
this appears to be only a narrow view. Things may be arranged, but ultimately it is the participation of the
human element that matters. Things, no doubt, are of great importance to the administrator who ­arranges
them but they cannot be administered. Administration has to do with human beings for whom it is meant.
It is essentially a matter of social relationships. It must not also be forgotten that the ­administrator is
­neither a philosopher nor a politician but the non-political side of the executive.

T he S cope of Public Administration

There are different opinions about the scope of public administration, i.e., whether it is to be understood
as the managerial part of the governmental work (the entire complex of activities of only the executive
branch of government) or of all the branches of the government, i.e., legislative, executive and judicial.
There are thus two divergent views regarding the scope of the study of public administration: integral view
and managerial view.
According to the integral view, public administration is a sum-total of all the activities undertaken in
pursuit of and in fulfilment of public policy. These would include not only managerial and technical, but
also manual and clerical activities. Thus, the activities of all persons working in an organisation from top to
bottom constitute administration. In other words, public administration is conceived in a comprehensive
sense to include all activities of the government whether they are performed in the executive, legislative or
judicial branches of the government. L. D. White adopts this view of public administration. According
to him, public administration ‘consists of all those operations having for their purpose the fulfilment or
enforcement of public policy’.
According to the managerial view, the work of only those persons who are engaged in the performance
of managerial functions in an organisation constitutes administration. It is these persons who shoulder the
responsibility of keeping the enterprise on even keels and to run it most efficiently. Their job is to plan,
programme and organise all the activities in an organisation so as to achieve the desired ends.
L. Gulick subscribes to the managerial view. He defines the managerial techniques by the word POS-
DCORB, each letter of which stands for a different management technique i.e., Planning, Organising,
Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting and Budgeting.
Planning means working out in broad outline the things that need to be done, and the method to be
adopted to accomplish the purpose set for the enterprise. Organising means building up the structure of
authority through which the entire work to be done is properly arranged and defined in order to achieve
the desired goals. Staffing means appointing suitable persons to the various posts under the organisation.
It comprises the whole of personnel management. Directing involves making decisions, issuing orders and
instructions, and embodying them for the guidance of the staff. Coordinating means interrelating the vari-
ous parts of organisational work and, thus, eliminating overlaps and conflict in different activities of an
organisation. Reporting means keeping both the supervisors and subordinates informed of what is going on
and arranging for the collection of such information through inspection, research and records. Budgeting
means fiscal planning, accounting and control, i.e., all activities relating to financial management.

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 4 Public Administration: Theory and Practice

According to Pfiffner, the scope of public administration can be divided under two broad heads: prin-
ciples of public administration and sphere of public administration. In the first category, public administra-
tion studies: (a) organisation, which means ‘the structuring of individuals and functions into productive
relationship’; (b) management of personnel, which is ‘concerned with the direction of these individuals and
functions to achieve ends previously determined’. It represents the dynamic aspects of administration and
may be called its ‘physiology’; (c) method and procedure, which are the techniques of administering, the
process of working, i.e., the ‘how’ of administration; (d) material and supply, which are the tools with whose
help administrative work is carried out, for example, stationery and furniture; (e) public finance, without
which personnel cannot be employed and work cannot be performed; (f ) administrative accountability both
in terms of internal control as well as external responsibility to law courts, legislature and the people.
Viewed from the jurisdictional point of view, the sphere of public administration includes the central
government, state governments, its regional and local authorities and also the public corporations.
Thus public administration, in sum, includes the totality of government activity, encompassing exercise
of endless variety and the techniques of organisation and management whereby order and social purpose
are given to the effort of vast numbers’.
A more comprehensive account of the scope of public administration has been given by Walker. He has
divided it into two parts: administrative theory and applied administration.
Administrative theory includes the study of structure, organisation, functions and methods of all types
of public authority engaged in carrying out the administration at all levels, i.e., national, regional, local,
etc. Further, it is a study of all problems connected with external control of parliament and the cabinet
over administration; internal control of administrative machinery; judicial control over administration;
administrative tribunals; planning, programming and execution of public actions; recruitment of person-
nel and problems connected therewith; research; information; public relations, etc. The emphasis is to find
out certain principles of administrative actions which can be usefully applied in practical administration.
Applied administration: It is difficult to give a comprehensive statement as to what ‘applied administra-
tion’ should exactly include because of the new and fast-growing field of public administration. Walker
has made an attempt to classify the main forms of applied administration on the basis of ten principal
functions which he calls as political, legislative, financial, defensive, educational, social, economic, foreign
imperial and local. He elaborates these functions as following:
(a) Political: It includes a study of executive��–legislature relationship, politico-administrative activities
of the cabinet, minister–official relationships, etc.
(b) Legislative: It includes delegated legislation, preparatory work done by the officials in drafting of
bill for enactments, etc.
(c) Financial: It includes the whole of financial administration from preparation to the enactment of
budget, etc.
(d) Defensive: It includes a study of military administration.
(e) Educational: It covers all aspects of educational administration.
(f) Social: All administration in the social field such as housing, food, social security and employment, etc.
(g) Economic: It covers all administrative activities in the economic field, i.e., industries, agriculture,
foreign trade, commerce, public enterprises, etc.

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 Meaning, Scope and Importance of Public Administration 5

(h) Foreign: It covers foreign administration which includes international cooperation, international
agencies for international peace prosperity, diplomacy, etc.
(i) Imperial: It includes problems and techniques of imperial domination over other nations, etc.
(j) Local: It covers administration of local bodies.
Although there are a lot of overlaps in Walker’s classification, it is a good attempt at an exhaustive
definition of applied administration. In short, we can say that applied administration includes the study
of administration in the various countries of the world; of various departments of services in the progres-
sive states; of organisation at various levels, i.e., governmental, local, national and international; of the
historical development of administrative methods and techniques; and of the problems connected with
international organisations.

S cope in R elation to People’s E xpectations

from the G overnment
It may be observed here that public administration is only a means to the attainment of the objects of the
state itself—‘the maintenance of peace and order, the progressive achievement of justice, the instruction of
the young, protection against disease and insecurity, the adjustment and compromise of conflicting groups
and interests—in short, the attainment of a good life’. The scope of public administration varies with
people’s expectations of what they should get from the government. A century ago they expected chiefly to
be left alone. Now they expect a wide range of services and protection. Throughout the world the demands
made by people upon governments have continually increased and in time to come they would further
increase. The expansion of government functions inevitably means more administrative agencies, more
officials and employees. The administrative system consequently grows and becomes diverse. Thus, it is
obvious that though public administration studies the administrative branch of the executive organ only,
yet its scope is very wide as it varies with the people’s conception of a good life.

S ignificance of Public Administration

There has been tremendous increase in the importance of public administration with the expansion of
state activities. The state is no longer considered as the preserver of status quo, instead the concept of the
‘service state’ has been almost universally accepted. The centuries old notion of ‘police state’, which was to
be responsible only for the maintenance of law and order and the policy of laissez faire, i.e., least interfer-
ence in day-to-day activities, has completely lost its relevance. The modern state has undertaken the new
role of accelerator of economic and social change as well as prime mover and stimulator of national devel-
opment. With this change in the ends of modern state, the purposes of public administration have also
been completely reoriented. Its functions have enormously increased in number, variety and complexity
and its methodology has grown from the trial and error stage into an orderly discipline with an organised,
ever-increasing body of knowledge and experience.
Today we see a great bulk of administrative departments coming into being. Since all members of
society remain under public administration from ‘cradle to grave’, their birth as well as death is to be
registered with the local authorities. There are a number of welfare agencies which provide all necessary

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 6 Public Administration: Theory and Practice

benefits to the child. Besides, all of us use the services of public administration in almost every walk of
life. Most of us are customers of the post-office and we wonder at the vast organisation which is needed to
provide this service. There are employment exchanges, rationing offices, government mints, departments
of agriculture, industries, foreign relations, etc., which affect almost every citizen in one way or the other.
This abundantly proves that public administration is a vital social process charged with providing great
needs. It is a permanent force and an integral part of the social, cultural and economic life of a nation. It is
possible for a state to exist without a legislature or an independent judiciary but no state can exist without
a well-organised administration. Edmond Burke said long ago, ‘Constitute government how you please,
infinitely the greater part of it will depend on exercise of powers which are left at large to the ministers of
state. Without proper management, your commonwealth is no better than a scheme on paper and not a
living, active, effective Constitution’. The powerful and important role played by public administration
in the life of a nation led Ransay Muir to remark that in England the minister is a tool in the hands of the
permanent executive. In the words of D. Waldo it is ‘apart of the cultural complex; and it not only is acted
upon, it acts’. It is a great creative force. Lack of sound administration may bring even the mightiest empire
to pieces as was the case with the ancient Roman Empire.
With the great advancement of science and invention of new techniques at all levels of human activity,
the problem of maintaining effective coordination between the administration and the rest of the com-
munity has assumed great importance. The administrator is an essential servant of the new age, which is
becoming so complex that neither the bluster of the power politician nor the abundant goodwill of the
multitude will avoid breakdown, if, despite the adoption of right policies, wrong administrative steps are
taken. Therefore the pursuit of greater knowledge of public administration becomes the most essential
element in modern times. In the words of Professor Beard, ‘The future of civilised government and even,
I think, of civilisation itself, rests upon our ability to develop a science and a philosophy and a practice of
administration competent to discharge the public functions of civilised society’.

Public and P rivate Administration

There is difference of opinion regarding the relationship between public and private administration. There
are some thinkers who consider that there is no difference between the two and that the administrative
activities and techniques are similar in all organisations, private or public. Urwick, Mary Parker Follet and
Henri Fayol subscribe to this view. According to Fayol, ‘We are no longer confronted with several admin-
istrative sciences but with one which can be applied equally well to public and private affairs’.

Similarities Between Public and Private Administration

These thinkers suggest various points of similarities between the two. First, many skills, techniques and
procedures adopted in private and public administration are the same, for example, accounting, office
procedure and management, etc. This view holds true also because of the fact that there is occasional inter-
change of personnel between public and private administration. It would not have been possible, had there
been difference in the working of the private and public administrative organisations.
Nigro points out four basic elements of similarity between the public and private administration:
(a) First is the cooperative element. According to him, administration is cooperative group effort in a
public or private setting. In every human organisation, be it private or public, the key to successful

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 Meaning, Scope and Importance of Public Administration 7

operations is the effective utilisation of human and physical resources. Though the purposes or goals of
these organisations may vary, the element of cooperation is present in both.
(b) Second point of similarity is the large size of organisations which he calls the bureaucratic element.
In all large organisations where the number of employees is substantially high, the bureaucratic element
is present. As it become difficult for one person to look after all the employees, intermediate levels of
supervisors are required. In other words, various levels of hierarchy evolve and the organisation grows
in complexity. Thus, bureaucracy is another major element of similarity between the two.
(c) Third aspect of similarity between the public and private administration is the concepts and tech-
niques of scientific management which are applicable to both industry and government. According
to Nigro, ‘Scientific analysis involves breaking down each task into its component parts, studying the
movement of the workers, the use made of materials and equipment, experimenting with different
work methods and procedures and finally adopting those which proved most efficient’. This scientific
technique is increasingly used in both public as well as private administration.
(d) Lastly, the human relations approach is again the main focus of similarity between the two.
Though there are certain points of similarity between the public and private administration yet no private
organisation can ever be exactly the same as a public one. The following are some points of difference
between the two types of administration:
(a) Political direction: The primary distinction between public and private administration lies in the
fact that unlike public administration, private administration is not subjected to political direction, save
in times of emergency. The ends it pursues are of its own device. Its objectives generally do not depend
upon political decisions. But the administrators under public administration have to carry on the orders
which they get from the political executive with little option of their own.
(b) Profit motive: Public administration is conducted with the motive of service while the motive of
private administration is profit-making. If the establishment of a textile mill brings more profit to the
capitalist than the establishment of a sugar mill, the former will be preferred by the capitalist, howsoever
urgent the need of the latter may be for the people. If private administration is useful to the public,
its services to the public are a by-product of profit-making. Usually, a private administration will not
undertake an activity that is not profit-making. For example, a capitalist will not establish a factory if
it brings in more loss and less profit. However, in the realm of public administration, several functions
performed by the state are money consuming rather than money generating, for example, running of a
government school or hospital.
(c) Service and cost: In the matter of public administration only such amount of money is raised by
taxation which is necessary for the rendering of the service. In other words, there is an integral rela-
tionship between the service rendered and the cost of service charged from the public. A government
budget is usually a deficit budget, i.e., expenditure exceeding the income. In private administration,
income often exceeds expenditure because there is usually an attempt made to generate as much money
as ­possible through the sale of products or services.
(d) Nature of functions: Public administration is more comprehensive than private administration.
It deals with various types of needs of people, for example, in most countries, the public administra-
tion maintains railways to facilitate movement of goods and passengers, provides posts and telegraphs

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 8 Public Administration: Theory and Practice

to facilitate communication, and maintains hospitals and dispensaries to protect public health. In a
­socialistic state the scope of state activity is still greater since its aim is to achieve greatest happiness of
the greatest number. Private administration does not usually cover that wide a scope of social activities.
It is mostly concerned with the economic needs of life. Public administration carries out functions
which are vital for the very existence of the people, for example, defence of the country and mainte-
nance of law and order. Private administration is concerned with less vital functions, for example, man-
ufacturing cloth, supply of sugar, etc. Besides, public administration retains monopoly over some of the
services, for example, in India, it alone runs railways, manages posts and telegraphs, and maintains an
army. No private individual can undertake any of these functions. In private administration more than
one organisation undertakes the same activity, for example, supply of cloth, plying taxis for hire, etc.
(e) Public responsibility: Public administration has responsibility to the public. In the words of
P. H. Appleby, ‘Government administration differs from all other administrative work by virtue of its
public nature, the way in which it is subject to public scrutiny and outcry.’ On the other hand, private
administration is only responsible to the people indirectly and that too usually to secure its own ends
and not for welfare of people.
(f ) Uniform treatment: Again, public administration should be consistent in procedure and uniform
in dealings with the public. An official cannot show favour to some people and disfavour to others. A
private administration on the other hand need not worry about uniformity in treatment. A shopkeeper
selling cloth may give cloth on credit, but a clerk in a post office will not sell stamps on credit.
(g) Public relation: The public and private administrations also differ on the principle of public rela-
tions. In the business world it is employed to win customers, by window displaying, free samples, design
and colour of labels.
(h) Efficiency: It is felt that private administration is superior in efficiency to public administration.
The glamour for ‘a businessman’s government’ or ‘commercialisation of the whole machinery of govern-
ment’ or privatisation of octroi, electricity production and distribution, etc., shows that the people con-
sider private administration as more efficient. Private administration indeed enjoys certain advantages,
such as differential wage payment as an incentive to increase production and to attract staff of superior
ability from rival firms, etc., over public administration which is marked by red tape, extravagance, cor-
ruption and inefficiency. In private administration, the incentive of more profits impels individuals to
devote themselves whole-heartedly in their business. But it does not mean that private administration
is always efficient, or public administration is always inefficient. While the incentive of cash profit is
missing in public administration, the incentive and desire to make one’s own administration successful
and win public approval thereby is always present, which impels administrators to devote themselves to
achieve efficiency in their offices.
(i) Organisation: Though the principle of organisation is relevant to both public and private admin-
istrations, it has greater social consequences in the former sphere. A defect in organisation in public
administration will do more harm to the public than a lacuna in private administration. Huxley writes,
‘The state lives in a glass house, we see what it tries to do, and all its failures, partial or total, are made
the most of. But private enterprise is sheltered under opaque bricks and mortar’.
(j) Monopoly: In the field of public administration, there is generally a monopoly of government and it
does not allow private parties to compete with it. For example, in most countries no person or body of

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 Meaning, Scope and Importance of Public Administration 9

persons can establish post and telegraph, railway, or coin currency, because these are exclusive fields of
government. This is not so in private administration wherein there are several organisations competing
with each other to supply the same commodity or to meet the same need. Of course, in certain cases,
even private concerns may have a monopoly, for example, in the manufacturing of patented medicines
etc.
(k) Officials remain incognito: In public administration even the most senior officials remain incog-
nito and their identity is not disclosed. This is so because whatever they do, they do in the name of the
government and not in their own name. On the contrary, private administration allows entrepreneurs
to do things on their own behalf and therefore they may be well-known in their business circles. In
many cases, business concerns are named after their proprietors.
(l) Psychological difference: There is also a psychological difference between private and public
­administration. In the USA during World War II, the coal mines were placed under governmental
control and although no appreciable changes in the administration of coal mines were made, there
came about a change in the psychology of the workers for now they knew the dangerous consequences
of strikes, etc.
According to Simon, the distinction between public and private administration relates mainly to three
points: (a) public administration is bureaucratic whereas private administration is business- like; (b) public
administration is political whereas private administration is non-political; and (c) public administration is
characterised by red-tape whereas private administration is free from it.
Sir J. Stamp points out four main distinctions between private and public administration. First, public
administration has to be conducted according to certain rigid rules and regulations and its decisions must
be consistent. Second, public administration is subject to the principle of financial control of the legis-
lature. Third, public administration is to observe the principle of public responsibility and, last, public
administration is free from profit motive.
However the difference between public and private administration is more apparent than real. In the
words of Waldo, ‘The generalisations which distinguish the two, equality of treatment, legal authorization
of, and responsibility for action, public justification or justifiability of decisions, financial probity and
­meticulousness, and so forth are of very limited applicability.’ In fact, public and private administration
are the ‘two species of the same genus. But they have special values and techniques of their own which give
to each its distinctive character’.

The E cology of Public Administration

The term ‘ecology’ in ‘ecology of public administration’ is an adopted term. Its main application has been
in the field of biology, where it suggests the interdependence between organisms and their environment.
Now the term is commonly employed in social sciences also.
In 1947, John M. Gaus in a seminar paper emphasised the need to employ the concept of ecology in
the study of public administration—namely the necessary interdependence of public bureaucracy and its
environment.8 However, it was Fred W. Riggs who drew attention, in an organised way, to the continuing
interaction between public administration and the environment within which it functions. Riggs in his
book, The Ecology of Public Administration (1961) has explored from a comparative perspective the interac-
tion between public administration and the environment in which it develops.9

Chapter 1.indd 9 6/1/2010 9:28:42 AM

 10 Public Administration: Theory and Practice

In the field of comparative administration, Riggs’ ecological approach, one of the important ana-
lytical tools that he used to explain his administrative theories, has been widely accepted. He applied
the term ecology—among other terms which he borrowed from sociology, physics and biology—to
propose new theories and models in public administration. These terms are referred as peculiarly
Riggsion.
Riggs while delivering his lectures on the ecology of public administration raised two questions relating
to the ecology of public administration. These are: (a) how do differences in social, cultural, historical or
architectural environment affect the way in which administration is conducted and (b) how, in turn, does
administrative action affect the society in which it plays its part?
Riggs also made it clear that John M. Gaus had stressed the importance of ecology in explaining admin-
istrative behaviour but unfortunately few students of the subject followed his advice, and we still lack an
adequate theory of the interrelations between administration and environment.
Riggs developed his analysis in the study of public administration in the USA, ancient Siam and modern
Philippines and Thailand, representing broadly his ideal type models of ‘refracted’, ‘fused’ and ‘prismatic’
societies respectively. Being well aware of the fact that governmental setting is one of the fundamental
determinants of administrative behaviour, he tried to turn to other features which also condition admin-
istration. He chose only economic, social, symbolic, communicative and political aspects or elements for
specific treatment.
The basic premise of Riggs’s ecological approach in comparative public administration is that public
administration may be regarded as one of the several sub-systems in a system and public bureaucracy as
one of the several basic institutions in a society. Public administration is continually interacting with the
economic, political and socio-cultural sub-systems in a society. It affects and in turn is affected by other
sub-systems.
The foregoing discussion makes it clear that administrative system of a country is a sub-system. The
other sub-systems being the political, the economic, the social, the cultural etc. And public administration
as a sub-system operates in a system (i.e., society) wherein it influences the other sub-systems and in turn
is influenced by these. This is the ecology of public administration.

Political Dimension
Riggs views that ‘public administration in all contemporary governments is rooted in politics. Politics,
moreover, can only be understood when we take into account the administrative capabilities—and limita-
tions of government’.10 Politics is a struggle among forces for the right to control the character of public
policy. This struggle is pursued by the political parties. The objectives of political parties are formulated
within the framework of ideologies of the parties. Hence objectives and ideologies of different political par-
ties throw a light on the formulation of public policies. Ideologies and policies thus get intimately linked.
Struggle for the capture of state organs of power and ultimately the policies comprise the whole process
of politics.
The field of public administration is greatly influenced by and related with the political environment.
Administrative organisations, processes and procedures are under the influence of politics i.e., the politi-
cal system of the society. So much so the volume of administrative activity in a society is determined and
directed by the political executive. In turn, the bureaucrats play a role in policy formulation.
According to Riggs, bureaucracy always plays a key role, but never an exclusive one, in public admin-
istration. Extra-bureaucratic institutions such as political parties, legislatures, chief executives, courts of

Chapter 1.indd 10 6/1/2010 9:28:42 AM

 Meaning, Scope and Importance of Public Administration 11

law, are also involved in implementing public policies just like they participate in politics. He further
says,
‘Public administration normally emphasises the inter-dependence of politics and
administration. It sees administration as a necessary function of government, one that
can be well or poorly performed, one that determines the quality of political action, and
one that always interacts with politics—both shaped by and shaping it.’

Economic Dimension
Economic features of a society also condition public administration. According to Riggs, economic pro-
ductivity is the most obvious characteristic which has influenced public administration. For example, in
India, poverty, unemployment and shortages lead to the development of a certain kind of equilibrium
between the citizens and the bureaucracy. The prevailing poverty makes people meek and pliant in their
interactions with the public servants. Acute unemployment in society results in intense pressures on gov-
ernment jobs leading to overstaffing in government offices.11
Riggs says that the economic system of a country has its both direct and indirect influences on
­administration. The interdependence between the two is apparent. The economy could not survive with-
out the administrative system, and the system is itself determined in many aspects by the requirements of
the economy. Moreover, the administrative system could not survive were it not for the productivity of the
economy supporting it.
In India for example, the civil servant is responsible for distribution of essential goods to the citizens. The es-
sential goods are usually in short supply, and the public servant is subjected to a lot of pressures. Such jobs involve
considerable discretionary authority, which, sometimes, paves way for corruption and political interference.
Availability of finances is one single potential factor to influence economy of the country. The policy of
planning, resource mobilisation, resource utilisation is thus the function of public administrators.

Socio-cultural Dimension
Socio-cultural environment of a society also interacts with administration.
Riggs has explained the social context of public administration in his comparative analysis of modern
and tradition societies. He states, ‘in order to understand any society we must also learn something about
its social structure. By this I mean such things as how groups form, whether we talk about families, reli-
gious sects, political parties, business corporations, or social classes.’ The social organisations are important
objects which continuously influence public administration of a country.
The impact of socio-cultural environment on administration can be felt in many ways. In India, the caste
system, and the regional, linguistic and religious groups have varying degrees of influence on administration.
Riggs in his ‘Ecology of Public Administration’ has emphasised the need to make a comparison between
the administration of developed and developing societies. While describing developing societies as ‘pris-
matic’ societies he has outlined the features of ‘fused-prismatic’ diffracted societies.
He maintains that developed societies are comparable to the diffracted light coming through a prism.
The white or fused light is comparable to a traditional society. In the middle is the ‘prismatic society’. He
compares the developing or prismatic societies to what happens to the light within the prism. In different
societies, the political, economic and social systems influence the administration in different ways and
therefore the political, economic and social systems in different countries vary considerably.

Chapter 1.indd 11 6/1/2010 9:28:42 AM

 12 Public Administration: Theory and Practice

It is amply clear that the economic, social and political systems of a society influence its administrative
system and in turn are influenced by them. Their interdependence is apparent. In all developing societies
efforts are being made for economic growth. The responsibility for bringing about economic development
is, to a large extent, borne by its administrative system. The governments through their administrative
system take various measures for helping to bring about desirable social change. The administrative system
is used for political development also. Political theorists like Carl Friedrich have pointed out that the state
comes into being first and then helps in the process of emergence of the nation.
The administrative system of a country interacts with its environment, reshaping it and being reshaped
by it.

Evolution of Public Administration as a D iscipline

Administration as an activity or as a process is as old as the human civilisation. We find the traces of the
activity in all types of human organisations that had been in existence during ancient times. Dimock and
Dimock have rightly remarked that ‘administration as a process is as old as human organisation itself. As
soon as primitive man began to act jointly with his fellows, he had to plan, organise, assign roles and coor-
dinate which literally makes administration’.12
But public administration as an academic discipline is hardly a century old. It has changed through the
twentieth century and has been through many ups and downs. Its study, as Peter Self points out, developed
as an offshoot of political science or public law, and until recently administration as an academic subject
was the very plain step-sister of these older disciplines’.13 It is believed that the term ‘public administration’
crept into European languages during the seventeenth century to distinguish the monarch’s administration
from their management of the private household.
Public administration is regarded as one of the newest disciplines of the social Sciences. Like other dis-
ciplines it has passed through several phases of evolution. Its evolutionary history can be divided into the
following phases of development.

Period I: (1887–1926)—The Era of Politics–Administration Dichotomy

Public administration as a discipline is said to have originated in the United States. The USA continues
to enrich it even today. The first stage of its evolution is considered to have begun with the appearance in
1887 of Woodrow Wilson’s essay titled ‘The Study of Administration’.14 He is regarded as the father of the
discipline. Through the essay—the most distinguished essay in the history of American public administra-
tion—Wilson sought to aid in the establishment of public administration as a recognised field of study.
As it happened, nearly forty years passed before public administration (as we think of it today) as a field
of study had developed to the point at which the first textbooks for college use were published. But when
they did appear they were developed along lines that Wilson’s essay clearly foreshadowed. Doctrine after
doctrine which public administration accepted as valid was first clearly enunciated by Wilson in 1887.15
In his essay, Wilson has stressed the need for a separate study of administration as he regarded admin-
istration as distinct from politics. He argued that law-making or framing a constitution is the concern of
politics, while administration is concerned with the implementation of a constitution. He said, ‘It is get-
ting harder to run a constitution than to frame one’.16
Wilson’s name is associated with two notable features. One, he is regarded as the father of the disci-
pline of public administration. Two, he gave the politics–administration dichotomy which dominated

Chapter 1.indd 12 6/1/2010 9:28:43 AM

 Meaning, Scope and Importance of Public Administration 13

the scene for quarter of a century. Another notable event of the period was the publication in 1900 of
Frank J. Goodnow’s Politics and Administration. Goodnow developed the Wilsonian theme further with
courage and conviction. He sought to conceptually distinguish the two functions of the government. He
maintains, ‘Politics has to do with policies or expressions of the State Will’, while ‘Administration has to do
with the execution of these policies’.17 Apart from this distinction he also stressed upon the differentiation
between the institutional location of the two functions. While the location of politics was identified as the
legislature and the higher echelons of government where major policy-decisions were made, the location
of administration was identified as the executive arm of government—the bureaucracy. Goodnow thus
posited the politics–administration dichotomy.
In the early part of the twentieth century many universities in the USA began to take active inter-
est in the reform movement in the government. Scholars, thereafter, got attracted to the field of public
administration. In 1914, the American Political Science Association published a report which discussed
the objectives of teaching political science. One of the objectives was to ‘prepare specialists for govern-
ment positions’. Thus, public administration was recognised as an important sub-area of political science.
The subject i.e., public administration began to gain recognition in the American universities and its
study started steadily spreading. In 1926, the first textbook on the subject appeared. This was Leonard
D. White’s Introduction to the Study of Public Administration. It reflected the dominant themes in public
administration of the period. Its premises were that politics and administration were to be kept separate
and efficiency and economy were the watchwords of public administration.
The remarkable feature of the first period of the evolutionary stages of the discipline was a passionate
belief in the politics–administration dichotomy—and the practical invalidity of the dichotomy did not
bother the thinkers.

Period II: (1927–37)—Principles of Administration

The second period of evolution of the discipline is marked by the tendency to reinforce the idea of ­politics–
administration dichotomy and to evolve a value-free science of management. The central theme of this
period was that there are certain principles of administration and the task to discover them and promote
their application was left to the scholars.
The period dawned with the appearance of W. F. Willoughby’s work Principles of Public Administration
in 1927. The title of the book axiomatically indicates the new thrust of the discipline. There appeared a
number of other works during this period stressing this approach, the more notable among them being
Principles of Organisation by Mooney and Reiley; Creative Experience by Mary Parker Follett; Industrial
and General Management by Henri Fayol. This period reached its climax in 1937 when Luther H. Gulick
and Lyndal Urwick’s Papers on the Science of Administration appeared. The use of the word ‘science’ by
Gulick and Urwick for administration was significant. Urwick said,
‘It is the general thesis of this paper that there are principles which can be arrived at
inductively from the study of human organisation which should govern arrangements
for human association of any kind. These principles can be studied as a technical
question, irrespective of the purpose of the enterprise, the personnel comprising it, or
any constitutions, political or social theory underlying its creation.’18
Gulick and Urwick coined the acronym—POSDCORB—to promote seven principles of adminis-
tration. The POSDCORB maxims of administration were said to be of universal applicability in old
­organisations.

Chapter 1.indd 13 6/1/2010 9:28:43 AM

Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
ou d’épée, et cela l’égayait de se les imaginer, ainsi vêtus à
l’antique, dans l’autre monde, en train d’attendre l’arrivée de leurs
petits-neveux, et solennellement assis à droite ou à gauche du Père
Éternel…
« Et dire qu’ils croient encore à ça ! à une autre vie ! Cette
bêtise !… Des empaillés, quoi ! » Et elle riait tout haut. C’était un
bonheur pour elle, que personne n’entendît ce rire-là.
— Êtes-vous couchée, ma sœur Marie ? puis-je entrer ?
— Oui, ma mignonne.
— Pas couchée encore ! Que faisiez-vous donc ?
— Ma prière, petite Annette.
— Peste ! Mademoiselle, je ne suis pas si sage, et vous me faites
honte. J’ai tout de suite fini, moi, — et encore, les trois quarts du
temps, je la dis dans mon lit, ma prière. C’est très mal, n’est-ce pas ?
Un pater, un ave et ioup ! je ne peux pas m’empêcher de penser à
mille choses… Quant à ma prière du matin, par exemple, c’est
abominable : je l’oublie toujours. Je m’en confesse. Monsieur le curé
dit : « Comment pouvez-vous ne jamais oublier de l’oublier, et cela
tous les matins sans faute ? » — Oh ! Monsieur le curé, lui ai-je dit
une fois, je suis si pressée de revoir le soleil ! d’aller dehors, courir
dans le parc ! — Alors, vous ne devineriez jamais, ma sœur Marie,
ce qu’il m’a répondu ; il a dit : « De revoir le soleil… Ah ?… » Et puis,
après une minute de réflexion : « Ma foi, chère petite, le Bon Dieu
est si bon qu’il prend peut-être ça, de votre part, pour une manière
de prier… »
 X

Si le comte Paul était descendu délibérément au fond de lui-

même, sans doute eût-il recherché pourquoi sa passion était
accompagnée d’un sentiment bizarre de vide et de malaise. Mais il
voulait lutter contre sa propre tendance à s’examiner de trop près ; il
voulait agir et vivre ; il se laissait tout bonnement glisser « sur la
pente d’aimer ».
Il se désarmait, en un mot, complètement, juste à l’heure où il
aurait dû faire appel à toute sa pénétration de sceptique.
La volonté d’être simple est bonne avec les simples. N’être pas
naïf avec eux, c’est être coupable envers eux. Mais ici, simplicité
devenait sottise. Ce jeune homme arrivait un peu tard, vraiment,
dans un monde bien vieux. Cet homme, doué des perspicacités les
plus aiguës, des puissances de doute et de soupçon les plus
clairvoyantes, se ramenait, par probité pure, à des naïvetés
d’enfant !
Il arrivait à Marie de trahir — oh ! pas longtemps, pas gravement,
— la tournure de son esprit, de révéler par un rien, vite corrigé,
l’habitude générale de son âme.
Un jour, par exemple, elle laissa échapper deux mots en grand
contraste avec la réserve voulue de son langage. Ce fut une faute,
car pour d’honnêtes provinciaux, pour la comtesse d’Aiguebelle et
son fils, les expressions veules, gouailleuses, qu’employait Rita
lorsqu’elle se parlait à elle-même, correspondent à un relâchement
de la fermeté morale et de la dignité.
Or drôle, rasant, j’te crois, ce bonhomme ! ces termes-là faisaient
le fond de sa vraie langue comme Goddam, pour Figaro, le fond de
la langue anglaise.
 Au comte Paul, qui lui demandait si elle irait ce jour-là à la pêche
avec sa sœur, elle répondit par un : « J’te crois ! » du plus saisissant
effet, — juste avec le ton qu’elle eût pris pour parler à Théramène.
Elle connaissait assez maintenant les opinions du comte et sa
manière subtile de sentir, pour regretter sur-le-champ cette
distraction. Ce n’était rien, ce mot, et Paul ne songeait qu’à en rire,
comme d’une espièglerie. Mais il la regarda et leurs yeux se
rencontrèrent. Elle eut une inquiétude qui flotta dans son regard et
qu’il aperçut distinctement. Il y eut un silence d’une seconde, après
lequel elle ajouta avec hésitation : « C’est ce pauvre Pinchard, —
vous savez, Pinchard, — qui m’a appris ce mot-là… C’est drôle,
n’est-ce pas ? » Pourquoi s’excusait-elle ? De quoi l’accusait-on ?
Que venait faire là ce Pinchard ? La gaucherie de la phrase affecta
le jeune homme, le gêna. Il avait l’impression indéfinissable et
pénible qu’on éprouve en présence d’un mensonge mal fait, qui
laisse voir ce qu’il veut cacher, et, du même coup, la nudité d’une
âme prise en faute.
Mais tout cela était véritablement peu de chose. Le comte Paul
était bien trop raisonnable pour s’y arrêter longtemps.
Sans doute, c’était là de ces souffrances folles, attachées au
charme d’aimer. Il voulut le penser ainsi. « Non ! est-ce bête,
l’amour ! »
Une autre fois, un voisin, en visite à Aiguebelle, conta
brusquement, en termes voilés d’ailleurs, une scandaleuse histoire,
qu’il eût été décent de ne pas comprendre, au moins en présence du
conteur. Marie laissa échapper un : « Ah ! bon ! » intelligent, du plus
déplorable effet.
Une fine angoisse traversa le cœur du jeune homme. A vrai dire,
il était inadmissible que Mademoiselle Déperrier eût compris ; et
c’était même la seule excuse du bavard. Il y a, croyait le comte Paul,
— naïf jeune homme d’une autre époque, — des vilenies dont une
jeune fille et même une femme ne doivent jamais concevoir
seulement l’idée. Naturellement, il n’osa interroger Marie, mais il fit
une allusion, peu de temps après, à l’inconvenance du narrateur.
Tout en parlant, il regarda la jeune fille d’un œil attentif. Elle sentit ce
regard et l’intention, et ne broncha pas.
— Inconvenant ? dit-elle, en levant sur le comte Paul son doux
regard plein de questions. Inconvenant ? Pourquoi ?
— Je suis un sot qui se croit malin, pensa le comte ; et,
mentalement, il lui demanda pardon.
Douter, s’interroger, hésiter, mais ce serait un crime ! Parfois le
souvenir des méfiances de sa mère lui revenait, traversait comme un
éclair noir sa lumière intérieure ; — et toute sa journée en demeurait
vaguement assombrie… Alors, il s’en voulait ; il se reprochait d’être
atteint par le mal du siècle, et incapable de jouir simplement et
noblement des meilleures choses de la vie.
« Ne suis-je pas heureux ? se demandait-il souvent. — Si, bien
heureux !… Et pourtant… Quoi ? que me manque-t-il ? » Ce qui lui
manquait, il n’en savait rien. Il songeait parfois que c’était sans doute
la réalisation du rêve. Mais, puisqu’elle était certaine ! Il se répondait
aussi : « L’homme n’est jamais content. Il en faut prendre son parti !
Je devrais être heureux. N’a-t-on pas dit que l’attente du bonheur est
plus douce que le bonheur même ? — Je ne suis pas assez positif »,
songeait-il encore. Et il se récitait les vers du poète :

Je traîne l’incurable envie

De quelque paradis lointain.

« Oui, c’est cela. J’ai beau avoir une conviction philosophique

très nette, je regrette doublement les paradis rêvés aux jours de mon
enfance. Tout petit, je les pleurais avec l’espoir de les retrouver. J’en
regrette aujourd’hui jusqu’à l’espérance ! Le positiviste et l’athée ne
seront heureux que lorsque des siècles d’atavisme leur auront
transmis graduellement l’oubli des idées métaphysiques qui sont
dans nos moëlles à nous autres. Toute notre nature morale, toutes
nos intuitions, originairement entachées de foi, — sont en lutte avec
les conclusions de notre raison. Voilà bien où est la cause profonde
de toutes nos mélancolies noires, de nos troubles, de notre misère
d’âme… Allons vivre ! Et secouons ces habitudes de pressentiment,
ces angoisses de mysticisme… Je suis un champ de bataille
d’antinomies. Comment m’affranchir de tout ça ? »
Il aspirait une large goulée d’air, sur la terrasse d’où s’apercevait
la mer bleue et, juste en face du château, les îles d’Hyères. Il prenait
un fusil, sifflait son griffon, allait, le long des marais salins, à la
recherche d’une bécassine…
Ce qui l’apaisait le mieux, c’était ses visites à de pauvres
malades qui, pour n’avoir pas à payer, le faisaient appeler comme
médecin. Le médecin de la Londe, village voisin, le fit prévenir un
jour, comme cela lui était arrivé déjà plus d’une fois, que forcé de
s’absenter pour une affaire grave, il priait son honoré confrère,
Monsieur le comte Paul d’Aiguebelle, de le remplacer auprès de ses
clients. Ce fut une semaine de grand repos moral. Le comte revenait
de ses visites avec des rayonnements de joie dans les yeux.
Le sentiment du service rendu au pauvre officier de santé et à
tout le pays, était en lui comme une sensation de force retrouvée. Il
éprouvait alors une allégresse physique, et une confiance étrange
dans le monde entier.
La foi est le bénéfice assuré du bien que l’on fait.
Se prouver qu’on est un brave homme, c’est se prouver du coup
qu’il existe de braves gens, et, d’une manière générale, que le Bon
existe. C’est créer en soi la sécurité, sans laquelle l’homme ne peut
jouir d’aucun bien-être.
Au retour de ces visites à de pauvres gens auxquels il apportait,
dans sa voiture, des remèdes, et souvent des provisions, de la
viande et du bon vin, le jeune homme considérait volontiers comme
une récompense mieux méritée les joies qui l’attendaient au
château. Alors, avec un abandon tout nouveau, il contemplait sa
fiancée, et il n’avait en la regardant que des pensées sereines.
Pourquoi faut-il que la bonté, la pureté et l’élévation des
sentiments, deviennent des causes d’erreur ? En ces moments-là,
sûr de lui, il était sûr d’elle, il avait confiance ; confiance absolument,
en tous deux, en toute chose au monde, en tout le monde. Les
moindres sensations, les désirs les plus physiques, l’émoi qu’il
éprouvait en se sentant frôlé par sa robe, en regardant, sous l’ombre
légère de son oreille, la naissance de ses cheveux cendrés, qu’irisait
tout à coup un trait de soleil, sous les grands arbres, tout cela en lui
devenait une aspiration à la vie haute, générale, un appel à l’avenir,
à la création consciente d’un fils qui serait un homme sain et pur, un
de ceux qui renouvelleront la terre !… Et il se mettait à aimer, à
adorer plus passionnément que jamais celle en qui dormaient ces
puissances de renouvellement, ces espérances infinies.
 XI

Toutes les pensées, toutes les joies, toutes les tristesses, tous
les désirs, tous les rêves, — tout cela proprement plié, sous
l’enveloppe mince des lettres, sous une effigie de roi ou de reine, et
bien et dûment timbré, tout cela glisse dans des trous béants aux
devantures des boutiques, puis court dans des wagons, s’en va, —
isolé des cœurs d’où cela est sorti, — sur les routes, par les
chemins, dans la boîte des facteurs toujours fatigués et toujours en
route… Tous ces petits carrés de papier, sans fin vont et viennent,
entre-croisant, sans les embrouiller, les milliers de fils de leur va-et-
vient, — la réponse appelant la réponse à travers l’espace… Tous
ces menus papiers, ce sont des cris qui s’échangent en silence…
Oh ! l’éloquente, la magique enseigne, qui, — dans les bourgades
perdues sous la neige des montagnes, au fond des vallées ignorées,
au bord des déserts d’Afrique, — donne au voyageur découragé une
soudaine émotion de fidélité et de retour, et comme un sentiment
joyeux d’ubiquité : Postes et Télégraphes.

Sur la tablette de son petit secrétaire, dont elle porte toujours la

mignonne clef sur elle, Marie écrivait à Berthe :

« Chérie,

« Mon mariage est fixé aux premiers jours de septembre. Il

aura lieu ici, dans la chapelle du château d’Aiguebelle. Peut-être
viendras-tu : Nice et Monaco sont si près !… Que de choses à
te conter, j’en étouffe… Ah ! que ce sera bon de bavarder !
« Mille gros baisers.
 Marie.

« P.-S. — Dois-je inviter Léon ? Je ne sais que faire. »

Berthe répondit :

« Si j’y serai, ma mignonne ! Je te crois que j’y serai ! Tu vois

bien que tout s’est passé selon la formule : couvent, rappel…, et
le reste, le reste c’est-à-dire ce que j’imagine, car tu ne m’as
pas gâtée : quatre pauvres petits billets en un an ! Moi qui te
croyais écrivassière ! Si tu meurs d’envie de tout dire, je meurs
d’envie de tout entendre. Bonjour, chérie, je tourne court. Mon
aimable époux s’impatiente. Nous dînons en ville et c’est attelé.
Ce qu’il est toujours plus embêtant, mon homme, tu n’en as pas
d’idée ! Et pourtant je le laisse libre : qu’est-ce qu’il faut donc
faire pour être heureuse ? Je t’engage à mettre le tien au pas
dès les premiers jours. Les premiers jours décident de toute la
vie. — Beaucoup de baisers.

Berthe.

« P.-S. — C’est égal, je regrette pour toi et pour tout Paris, la

Madeleine et tout le grand tra-la-la des mariages célèbres. Mais
tu me rappelles Bonaparte : il commença par Toulon. All right !
Et laisse Léon où il est, à Valence. »

Pendant que Marie lisait, dans sa chambre, cette lettre de

Berthe, Paul recevait celle-ci, datée de Saïgon :

« Mon vieux frère,

« Je vais rentrer en France plus tôt que je ne pensais. Il

serait trop long de t’expliquer pourquoi il m’est impossible de
faire autrement. Je serai d’ailleurs bien heureux de vous revoir
tous, et d’embrasser encore une fois ma vieille maman infirme.
J’avais des projets d’études spéciales que j’abandonne avec
chagrin. »
 Suivait une longue dissertation sur l’avenir de la Cochinchine ; et
la lettre s’achevait ainsi :

« Puisque je reviens en France, j’espère y arriver de façon à

pouvoir assister à ton mariage. C’est Pauline qui m’en a dit la
date probable. Sans elle, je ne saurais rien de toi. C’est pourtant
facile d’écrire au courant de la plume tout ce qui passe par la
tête. Ingrat, va !… N’importe, cher silencieux, je sais où dort en
silence le trésor de ton amitié. Gardons-la, notre amitié,
gardons-la bien, éternellement, même sans nous la dire. Tous
les amours peuvent tromper, mais non pas celui-ci : la vieille
affection de deux hommes au cœur droit. Je t’aime, vieux frère,
et je suis à toi.

Albert. »

La petite Annette lisait une lettre de Pauline :

« Ma chère petite Annette,

« Ce grand évènement, le mariage de ton bien-aimé frère, va

donc se réaliser. Je n’aurais pas cru que cela se fît si tôt. Enfin,
j’espère encore un retard qui permettra à mon frère d’arriver à
temps. Il sera avec nous dans les premiers jours de septembre.
En ce cas, moi aussi j’irai là-bas. Tu me trouveras un peu triste ;
ne t’étonne pas ; maman m’inquiète toujours davantage. Elle
m’effraie, tant elle est maigrie, mais son âme, sa parole
vraiment suaves me consolent de tout, même de ce grand mal
qu’elle me fait en étant toujours plus malade. Comme c’est
beau, la force morale, l’amour du devoir, le dévouement aux
autres, la bonté qui permet qu’on souffre en souriant, afin de
consoler ceux qui vous aiment. Toute son âme est maintenant
dans ses yeux et c’est beau comme la lumière. Cela ne se peut
expliquer, il faut le voir et alors cela s’impose, se transmet
même. Puissé-je lui ressembler pendant toute la grande
épreuve de la vie, par la force et par la douceur… Mes respects
à ton adorée mère. Elle ressemble à la mienne. Dieu te la
conserve ! Travaille bien et amuse-toi bien.
« Un gros baiser sur tes deux joues, de ta triste vieille amie.

Pauline. »

Annette répondit :

« Chère, chère Pauline !

« Quel bonheur ! quel bonheur ! Il nous revient, ton grand

frère ! Figure-toi que je n’osais pas l’espérer. Paul va être si
heureux ! Et maman aussi, de te revoir ! Et ta maman à toi et toi-
même ! Nous serons tous, tous si contents. J’ai éprouvé un tel
bonheur de cette nouvelle que j’en ai sauté, en jouant avec ma
sœur Marie, comme une enfant, des petites… Mais je
m’aperçois que l’idée de notre bonheur m’empêche de
m’attrister avec toi sur la santé de ta mère. Va, le bon Dieu nous
les conservera longtemps encore. Et puis leur force d’âme les
soutient, car la mienne aussi est bien malade, sans en avoir
l’air. Du moins, elle marche, elle. Mais le cœur lui fait mal
souvent. Toujours ces palpitations. Le médecin recommande
mille précautions. Ne pas monter d’escaliers ; pas d’émotions
brusques… Aussi, je lui ai annoncé très doucement le retour
d’Albert. Elle me charge de dire à ta maman toutes les
tendresses les plus douces. Oui, ta mère est admirable, sur ce
lit de douleur, d’avoir si longtemps de si belles patiences. Elle
est héroïque, disait hier maman, mais aussi quelle consolation
pour elle d’avoir sa fille Pauline, — bonne comme elle, — et
quelle fierté d’avoir un fils comme Monsieur Albert, — qui sera
amiral tout jeune, j’en suis sûre. Je l’ai entendu dire à l’amiral
Drevet. Je te dirai encore que ma sœur Marie est toujours très
belle et d’une amabilité qui ne se dément jamais. Pauvre Marie !
Elle n’a plus de mère à aimer, elle. Pourtant, elle mérite tous les
bonheurs. Mon frère le dit souvent, et je le crois. Je me rappelle
qu’elle plaisait aussi beaucoup à Albert. Si tu lui écris encore, à
ton cher frère, dis-lui comme nous l’attendons tous avec
impatience, moi comprise. Il me trouvera grandie, en dix-huit
mois ! Songe donc ! j’avais quinze ans et demi ! A présent je
suis une femme. Il me semble que je n’oserai plus jouer avec
lui, comme autrefois, au chat perché ! Te souviens-tu comme il
m’attrapait à tout coup ? Mais je bavarde comme une petite pie.
Je te rends, sur les deux joues, tes deux gros baisers, ma
bonne Pauline. Ta petite amie pour toujours.

Annette.

« P.-S. — Tu ne sais pas ? je pense souvent que nous

pourrons être pendant toute la vie, toi et moi, deux amies
comme sont, en hommes, Albert et Paul. On dit que c’est rare
entre femmes. Et, en effet, j’y songe : il y a Damon et Pythias,
Oreste et Pylade ; il n’y a pas de légende sur l’amitié des
femmes. Eh bien, nous serons une rareté. C’est dit ! Bonjour,
ma Pauline. »

De la comtesse d’Aiguebelle à l’abbé Tardieu :

« Vous aviez raison, mon cher abbé. Elle est charmante,

irréprochable, un peu sèche par moments, d’une réserve un peu
voulue. Mais cela vient sans doute d’une excessive et très noble
fierté. Le mariage aura lieu le 15 septembre. Que Dieu protège
mon cher enfant ! Merci de votre bonne lettre. Pardonnez-moi si
je n’y réponds pas plus longuement : je suis si souffrante
aujourd’hui. »

Le comte Paul répondit à Albert :

« J’ai fixé le 15 septembre, afin que tu puisses être là. Je

veux t’avoir. Mon bonheur, autrement, serait incomplet. Je te
serre dans mes bras.

Paul. »
 Albert, en lisant ces lignes, se sentit pâlir. Il éprouva un
mouvement d’angoisse au fond de son cœur, mais son parti était si
bien pris, sa volonté si accoutumée à être la maîtresse ! Il envoya un
mot par câble sous-marin. Et ce mot, qui sortait des profondeurs les
plus douloureuses d’une âme d’homme, et dont il fut le seul à
connaître tout le sens, courut au fond des grandes eaux :
— « J’y serai. Merci. »
 XII

Paul avait exprimé à sa mère le désir de célébrer son mariage

sans éclat. Il répugnait aux publicités qu’on donne à cette
cérémonie. La comtesse, au contraire, pensa que, dans le cas
présent, la jeune fille, presque sans famille, se mariant loin de chez
elle contre l’habitude, il fallait l’imposer, ne pas avoir l’air de se
cacher ; et, précisément parce qu’on était dans l’isolement de la
campagne, elle désira convier le plus de monde possible. « Il n’y en
aura jamais assez. »
Les choses furent ainsi faites.
Trois jours avant le mariage, Monsieur et Madame de Ruynet,
que Mademoiselle Déperrier avait invités pour bien montrer qu’elle
avait des amis titrés, étaient accourus de Paris. La marquise de
Jousseran rendit à Marie un dernier service en venant à Hyères,
exprès pour elle cette fois. Lérin de la Berne accourut aussi, pour se
payer, disait-il, la tête des deux conjoints.
Quant à Léon Terral, qui apprit la nouvelle par les journaux, il
demanda quatre jours de permission, et débarqua à Hyères avant de
s’être interrogé sur ce qu’il venait faire, étonné de voir si près de se
réaliser un projet pourtant bien connu de lui. Marie ne lui avait rien
dissimulé. Alors, de quoi avait-il à se plaindre ? Avait-il protesté ?
Non. Mais à présent que l’évènement était là, devant lui, inévitable, il
n’en prenait plus son parti.
La veille du grand jour, Berthe, très surexcitée, vint voir Marie, à
Aiguebelle.
— Tu ne sais pas ?
— Quoi ?
— Léon est ici !
 — En vérité ?
— Tu prends cela avec ce calme ?
— Qu’y faire ? Je m’y attendais.
— Il va faire un esclandre.
— Non… Et puis, pourquoi pas ?… Mais non.
— Comment, pourquoi pas ?
— Je suis un peu fataliste. D’un côté, ça m’amuserait ! Ça
mettrait fin à bien des tourments que j’éprouve. Et ça m’en
épargnerait d’autres, que je prévois. Crois-tu que ça m’amuse,
d’être, de par ma propre volonté, dans la situation des jeunes
personnes que leurs familles marient contre leur gré ?
— Tu es une singulière fille !
— Oh oui, alors ! C’est comme ça.
— Enfin, que veux-tu ?
— Je suis lasse. Je veux ce que la destinée voudra.
Elle était songeuse. Elle ajouta :
— Léon, c’est la destinée…
— … Et la misère, acheva Berthe.
— Oui, je sais… Sans ça…
— Eh bien, qu’est-ce qu’il faut lui dire ?
— Comment a-t-il su la date ?
— Par les journaux.
— Je vais le faire inviter… Un ami d’enfance… Il a connu, il a
aimé ma mère. C’est tout simple. Qu’il vienne demain… Ah ! ma foi,
je le reverrai avec plaisir.
— Tant que ça ?
— Je crois bien ! Je ne suis pas forcée de poser de profil tout le
temps, avec lui. Il ne m’aime pas en camée. Il m’aime en femme
vivante, avec mes défauts ; il m’aime enfin, comme je suis… Il
m’aime donc bien, n’est-ce pas ?
 — C’est toi qui me l’expliques, et tu m’interroges ?
— C’est que je voudrais me l’entendre dire.
— Il est fou, ma chère… — « Je savais bien, m’a-t-il dit, qu’elle
allait se marier ; mais l’annonce du fait définitif, lue par hasard dans
un journal, ces mots écrits, imprimés, publiés, m’ont donné un coup.
Il est clair qu’avant je n’y croyais pas. — Eh bien ! si elle veut, je
l’enlève… je l’arrache à elle-même… car elle se trompe. Elle fait un
calcul et elle s’en repentira. Il est temps encore… dites-le-lui. » Voilà,
ma chère, les absurdités qu’il débite, et bien d’autres encore.
— Et tu as répondu ?
— J’ai répondu, pardi ! que tout ça n’est pas raisonnable. Que tu
dois te marier d’abord, qu’on verra après.
— Ah ! tu lui as dit ça ?
— Cette bêtise ! Quand ça ne serait que pour le calmer jusqu’aux
calendes grecques. Il manque de principes, le gaillard. Je lui ai fait
comprendre qu’un honnête homme laisse une femme assurer
d’abord son avenir.
— Parbleu ! tout ça est juste, mais si tu savais ce que ça me
dégoûte, — ce que j’aimerais mieux autre chose, par moments.
— Allons donc ! Que veux-tu ? C’est la vie, ça. C’est comme ça
pour tout le monde.
— Pauvre Léon !
— Tu le plains ?
— Oui. Parce qu’il n’a pas fini de souffrir, avec moi. Si encore je
savais moi-même exactement ce que je compte faire de lui ! Mais je
n’en sais rien !… Que sait-on ? Tiens, à de certains moments, il me
semble que, par ce mariage j’entre dans une forteresse et que lui,
Léon, sera ma seule chance d’évasion.
— Mais tu ne veux pas t’évader…
— … Avant d’avoir vu comment la prison est faite ; oui. Si j’allais
m’y plaire ?
 — Au fond, ma petite Marie, je voudrais être à ta place. Tu es en
plein roman. Ça doit être bon. Tu me fais l’effet de ces originaux qui
se marient en ballon. Ils échangent le premier baiser à 1,500 mètres
par-dessus les moulins, — et la peur de tomber… Enfin, je
m’entends… Ils mettent les frissons doubles… C’est si bon, d’avoir
peur !… Qu’est-ce qu’il faut dire à Léon ?… De venir demain ?
Entendu !
C’était bien cela. Les complications enchantaient Marie.
L’inquiétude que lui donnait l’arrivée de Léon, le mépris pour elle-
même que lui inspirait la conquête — trop facile, jugeait-elle
maintenant — de cette provinciale famille, la joie et le dégoût d’y
avoir si vite réussi, une chance de voir, au dernier moment, échouer
son projet, tout cela, à des degrés très divers, était brûlant en elle, et
lui faisait sentir la vie avec l’intensité désirée. Elle avait bu, en son
enfance, de si amers, de si forts breuvages ! Pour goûter la vie, il
fallait qu’elle y trouvât quelque chose d’âpre et de mordant. Son
imagination avait toutes les expériences. Aisément les réalités lui
semblaient misérablement simples.
Par moments, malgré ses curiosités d’intrigue, elle sentait un
découragement final, une accablante lassitude, l’envie de n’être
plus.
Elle avait tant rêvé, tant désiré… Oh ! se reposer du désir !
« Tout ça, c’est toujours la même chose… A quoi bon tout ça ? »
Et la songeuse perdait quelquefois de vue, brusquement, le triomphe
au milieu de tous les luxes, sous les plafonds d’or d’un palais, pour
rêver le bonheur farouche de mourir à deux, dans une mansarde,
étouffée par la fumée d’un réchaud. Puis un besoin furieux de vivre
emportait son imagination, mais elle serait morte très bien, ne fût-ce
que par bravade. Qu’avait-elle à regretter ? Elle ne connaissait pas
la joie, ne connaissant pas la tendresse.
L’audace devant la mort, c’est la grande puissance des
aventuriers. Elle en était. Elle était de la race qui ne redoute rien ;
elle était de ceux qui aiment mieux le risque que le gain. C’est le cas
de tous les joueurs : tous aiment mieux perdre que de ne pas jouer !
 Le vieux docteur, qui était venu de son côté rendre visite aux
d’Aiguebelle, repartit pour Hyères en même temps que Mme de
Ruynet. Son tilbury s’avança jusque sur la terrasse où Berthe et
Marie avaient rejoint le comte et sa mère.
— Vous n’allez pas repartir tout seul dans votre joujou de voiture,
docteur ? Vous allez monter dans mon landau de louage. Il est très
propre. Nous bavarderons. J’adore bavarder, moi. Et vous, j’en suis
sûre, vous avez beau prétendre avoir renoncé à Paris, vous mourez
d’envie de causer avec une Parisienne. — Eh bien, me v’là !
La comtesse, qui n’éprouvait pas une folle sympathie pour
Berthe, se mit pourtant à rire de bon cœur.
— Ceci veut dire que nous sommes ennuyeux comme la
province personnifiée ? dit-elle, toujours riant.
Berthe ne se démontait jamais.
— Ma foi, comtesse, j’ai dit ça sans malice, moi. Vous répétiez
tout à l’heure que Paris vous effraie et vous fatigue. C’est donc que
vous avez renoncé à ce joli titre gai de Parisienne. Une Parisienne,
ça aime Paris… Une Parisienne… voyons, docteur, qu’entendez-
vous par une Parisienne, vous ? Comment la définissez vous, la
Parisienne ?
Le vieux docteur se retrouvait sur son terrain de jadis. Il
prononça, avec une élégance de vieux jeune premier qui donne sa
représentation à bénéfice :
— Comment je la définis, madame ?… Légèreté et grâce d’esprit,
avec un désir inquiet et inquiétant de rôder sans cesse autour de
tout ce qui brille et de tout ce qui brûle… Est-ce cela ?
Berthe se leva, fixa ses regards abaissés sur le bout de son
ombrelle qui tourmenta le gravier, et, jolie à ravir, ainsi posée, le
regard invisible, mais les paupières battantes sous les cils qui les
ombraient :
— Ah ! soupira-t-elle, c’est vrai, nous sommes frivoles !
Il y avait bien des choses dans ce mot, ainsi soupiré. Il y avait de
la coquetterie, une apparence de blâme et de regret
condescendants, une secrète satisfaction de soi-même, et tant
d’espièglerie, de naïveté feinte et de rouerie délicate — que la
comtesse elle-même, voyant clairement tout cela à la fois, fut
charmée comme par la vue d’une orchidée bien venue, d’un caprice
féerique de la nature faiseuse de fleurs.
Berthe effleura quelques sujets encore, en cinq minutes, et l’on
se quitta au milieu d’un badinage léger comme l’invisible pollen
d’une touffe de lilas secouée.
Quand elle posait pour des gens graves, elle était exquise, cette
Berthe.
Le docteur monta dans le landau de Berthe. Son tilbury suivait.
— Savez-vous, docteur, ce que nous disions, avec la jolie
fiancée, tout à l’heure ?
— Non ; mais ça ne pouvait être que très spirituel.
— Spirituel, pas du tout. Nous disions simplement que ça doit
être très agréable de se marier en ballon.
— Voyez-vous !
— Oui, à cause de la peur ! — Ça ne vous fait pas rire ?
— Pas du tout.
— Pourquoi donc ?
— Parce que c’est une idée de malade, ça. Ce goût du péril, dont
vous parlez, c’est une monomanie, plus répandue qu’on ne croit.
— Vraiment ?
— Vraiment. Et c’est triste. Toutes ces idées bizarres, il ne faut
pas trop en rire, je vous assure, parce qu’elles accusent la
dégénérescence d’une race.
— C’est si grave que ça ?
— J’ai connu une jeune fille qui avait une passion : elle aimait un
certain cheval, parce qu’il était dangereux ; j’ai connu un fort aimable
jeune homme qui s’était fait mécanicien pour le plaisir de se dire,
l’œil fixé sur les oscillations du manomètre, à bord de son yacht, où il
invitait ses amis, qu’il pourrait à son gré sauter avec tout son monde,
en forçant la pression, et il la forçait ; j’en connais un autre qui ne
saurait dormir qu’avec de la dynamite dans les caves de son palais ;
et je sais enfin une jeune femme, aussi jolie que vous…
— Qu’est-ce qu’elle fait de décadent, celle-là ? interrogea Berthe
d’un air narquois.
— Je ne sais pas comment dire ça.
— Allez-y carrément !
— Eh bien, elle n’oublie volontiers ses devoirs que si elle a lieu
de croire que son mari peut la surprendre, — autant dire la tuer.
— Bref, dit Berthe, le siècle, selon vous, chahute sur un volcan ?
— Ah ! soupira le docteur, nous sommes loin du temps où Berthe
filait !
Sur ce mot, qui n’avait rien de bien comique, il regarda sa voisine
d’un air si… suggestif, qu’elle se mit à rire, à rire !… Et ce fut, jusqu’à
Hyères, un feu roulant d’anecdotes, de drôleries échangées. Le mot
propre, qui est souvent le mot cru, répondait au mot propre, la
facétie au calembour, l’éclat de rire à l’éclat de rire. Et, à l’entrée de
la ville, les employés de l’octroi s’étonnèrent de voir, dans ce landau
toujours suivi du tilbury, le vieux docteur, si grave à l’ordinaire, se
tordre littéralement, — vocabulaire de Berthe, — aux côtés de la jolie
damerette qui n’avait en elle et sur elle rien que de chiffonné : le
chapeau, le chignon, le corsage, les rubans, les jupes, le nez, — et
la morale.
Chiffonnée ? non, — fripée, la morale !
 XIII

Les plus longues échéances arrivent, et, l’heure arrivée, on

s’étonne qu’un délai d’un an ou une durée de vingt ans, une fois
dans le passé, ne pèsent pas plus l’un que l’autre.
Albert de Barjols, au bout de dix-huit mois de commandement, se
retrouva le même homme, avec le même rêve au cœur. Peut-être
l’absence, — qui rend si désirables les réalités les plus banales,
même celles qu’on a détestées à l’heure où on les possédait, —
avait-elle accru en lui son amour sans espérance. Cet amour, son
renoncement même le lui avait rendu précieux. Il n’était pas sans se
complaire dans l’approbation de lui-même. Le bien n’est parfait, n’est
accompli que dans le cœur de quelques saints, et encore ceux-là
ont-ils à repousser, comme des suggestions étrangères, diaboliques,
les mauvaises pensées de l’orgueil. Dans un homme dont la volonté
morale est sa propre fin, la satisfaction de soi, récompense légitime,
devient un péril. L’égoïsme toujours aux aguets entre par là, se
satisfait, exige, fût-ce en silence, certains dons en retour, de ceux à
qui on prétend s’être sacrifié, et qui l’ignorent ! Cela devait peut-être
arriver pour Albert. En attendant, la satisfaction qu’il éprouvait de sa
générosité lui faisait de Marie un être d’autant plus cher. N’est-ce
pas à lui qu’elle devait, sans le savoir, son fiancé ? Elle lui devait au
moins le repos, car il n’aurait tenu qu’à lui, Albert, en avouant son
amour à Paul, d’établir entre eux une rivalité qui, au bout du compte,
aurait peut-être tourné à son avantage.
Pourquoi non, si, à ce moment-là, ce qui était bien possible, le
cœur de la jeune fille n’avait pas encore parlé.
Esprit noble et pur, mais très positif, Albert n’était pas de ces
idéalistes qui demandent à la vie des beautés supra-humaines, aux
êtres des vertus sans défaillances. Ici, il admettait fort bien qu’une